Ofunato High School was inundated with calls after its loss in the final of the Iwate Prefectural tournament on Thursday.
But it wasn't a stream of commiserations and condolences pouring in — there were around 150 calls on the day of the school's 12-2 loss to Hanamaki Higashi High School according to multiple outlets. It was people asking why Roki Sasaki, Ofunato's fireballing ace, didn't pitch in the final with a spot in the National High School Baseball Championship on the line.
Never mind that Sasaki had thrown 435 pitches from July 16-24. Or that he would've pitched in the final on no rest after throwing 129 pitches in the semifinals and 194 — with 21 strikeouts and a game-winning two-run homer — over 12 innings three days before that.